Soft-Core® HD receives recommended product rating
1/3/2008
Axis Dental recently introduced a new version of its Soft-Core® Classic Endodontic Obturator, called Soft-Core® HD. The advantages of the HD over the Classic, according to the manufacturer, are lower heating temperature, faster heating times, potentially less shrinkage, improved radiopacity, and improved contrast between the gutta-percha
and the tooth structure.
Radiopacity
Axis Dental claims that Soft-Core® HD’s enhanced radiopacity and cool orange gutta-percha improve visual contrast for a high-definition fill. When asked about the importance of radiopacity when purchasing obturators, 6 of the 7 evaluators said it was important to very important; 1 evaluator was neutral on the subject. The evaluators were then asked to rate the Soft-Core® HD endodontic obturator on its level of radiopacity. Six evaluators rated the radiopacity very good to excellent and 1 rated it as good.
Size Verifier
The Soft-Core® HD endodontic obturator comes with a Soft-Core® size verifier for measuring the correct working length and to determine obturator fit. According to Axis Dental, the size verifier is the same shape and taper as the obturator core, is flexible enough for use in any curved canal, and is radiopaque to aid in the confirmation of working length. When the dentist evaluators were asked what they thought of the ease of use of the size verifier, 4 said it was excellent, 2 said it was very good, and 1 rated it as good. One evaluator commented that he was “pleased to find it was radiopaque.” Another evaluator noted that the size verifier is “an improvement over predecessors.”
Heater Effectiveness
Included with the Soft-Core® HD endodontic obturator is a Soft-Core cordless heater. The dentist evaluators were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the heater. Two evaluators rated heater effectiveness as excellent, 4 rated it as very good, and 1 said it was good. One of the evaluators did note that the heater is “a bit quirky with the switch and all.” Another commented that while the heater worked well, it “would soften the points that I had waiting to be used later. I learned not to put the other points into the tray until [I was] ready to use [them].”
Root Canal Filling
When asked about the importance of ease of filling the root canal when purchasing endodontic obturators, 5 of the evaluators said it is very important and 2 said it is important. When they were asked to rate the Soft-Core® HD endodontic obturator on ease of use when filling the root canal, 6 rated it as excellent to very good and 1 rated it as good. One evaluator commented that he found filling the root canal “so easy I felt that I must not be doing a good job.” Another said that the only difficulty he had was when “cleaning the overflow from the access.”
Overall Satisfaction
The evaluators for the Soft-Core® HD endodontic obturator rated it as excellent to good for overall satisfaction. One evaluator commented that “It is the only system the staff wants to use.” Another evaluator said, “My staff had no problems adjusting to the new system. It was actually easier with less steps than conventional lateral condensation.”
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